Insider Selling: Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) Director Sells 2,600 Shares of Stock

Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) Director Paul K. Wotton sold 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total value of $152,672.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,609,045.44. This trade represents a 8.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Vericel Stock Down 2.8 %

VCEL stock traded down $1.63 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $56.52. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 195,112 shares, compared to its average volume of 428,716. Vericel Co. has a 52-week low of $32.31 and a 52-week high of $61.49. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 969.33 and a beta of 1.71.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.03. Vericel had a return on equity of 1.48% and a net margin of 1.56%. The business had revenue of $57.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.32 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Vericel Co. will post 0.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vericel

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Vericel by 4,126.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 634 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Vericel by 319.0% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 662 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Vericel by 48.1% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,247 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Vericel by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,773 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vericel in the 3rd quarter valued at $92,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VCEL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Stephens raised shares of Vericel to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com raised Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vericel has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.71.

About Vericel

Vericel Corporation, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the research, development, manufacture, and distribution of cellular therapies for sports medicine and severe burn care markets in North America. The company markets autologous cell therapy products comprising MACI, an autologous cultured chondrocytes on porcine collagen membrane for the repair of symptomatic, and single or multiple full-thickness cartilage defects of the knee; Epicel, a permanent skin replacement humanitarian use device for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with deep-dermal or full-thickness burns; and NexoBrid, a biological orphan product for eschar removal in adults with deep partial-thickness and/or full-thickness thermal burns.